PITTSBURGH — Islanders defenseman Andrew MacDonald met with doctors on Thursday and most likely will require surgery on his left hand, keeping him out 6-8 weeks, according to two sources.

MacDonald sustained the broken hand in the second period of the Islanders’ 6-4 win in Game 4 on Tuesday, getting hit by a slap shot from Penguins’ defenseman Douglas Murray. The extent of the injury wasn’t fully known after the game, but the team is now not expecting him to be available for the remainder of the postseason, no matter how far they go.

After getting hit by the shot, MacDonald went to the ice in a heap, bringing with him Pittsburgh forward Craig Adams and earning a holding penalty. MacDonald then went to the bench, was examined, and didn’t return to the game.

“Andrew is a big part of our team,” said coach Jack Capuano before Thursday night’s Game 5 at the CONSOL Energy Center, the first-round series tied 2-2. “He’s an integral part of our team, but this is an opportunity for some of our other guys to play more minutes and step up.”

Capuano was not willing to discuss who might replace MacDonald in the lineup, and there was no indication from the morning skate when both Radek Martinek and Thomas Hickey came off the ice around the same time. Martinek is the veteran and most likely to get in, but Hickey has played in more games this season, including in Game 1 of this series. Martinek hasn’t got in a game since April 16.

“I’m not going to discuss our lineup,” Capuano said, “but I feel confident with the guys that we have that they’re going to get an opportunity and they’re going to play well.”

MacDonald led the Islanders in ice time during the regular season and through the first three games of the playoffs. The team will now have to deal with his absence throughout the rest of the playoffs – no matter how long it goes – which is the franchise’s first postseason appearance since 2007.

“More responsibility, for sure,” said Travis Hamonic, who was MacDonald’s blue-line partner. “Andrew and I played together for three years now and we were pretty used to each other, so communication is going to be a big thing out there tonight.”

Odds are Hamonic will be paired with Brian Strait, who played 21:33 in Game 4 and most it next to Hamonic after MacDonald went down.

“I feel like Brian can play top minutes in this league,” Capuano said. “He’s done it for us, and we were successful when he was doing it for us.”

Strait was picked up off waivers from – of all teams – the Penguins just one day before the season started. He was logging relatively big minutes to start the season, then broke his ankle in a game against the Flyers on Feb. 18. He returned on April 20 in Winnipeg, and played the final four games of the regular season before playing in the first four games of this series.

“We knew what we were getting with Brian,” Capuano said.

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There was no indication if the Islanders would change things up front, either, as David Ullstrom and Jesse Joensuu both came off the ice at the same time. Ullstrom replaced Marty Reasoner in the lineup for Game 2, but got just 5:45 and 5:15 of ice time in Games 3 and 4, respectively. Joensuu suited up for warmups before Game 4, but didn’t play.